8 November 2023
The president and CEO of automotive seating supplier Adient plc will retire at the end of the year, leaving the chief financial officer to take the reins of the company.
Doug Del Grosso, who took the top role in 2018, will resign effective Dec. 31, along with his standing as a board member, the Plymouth, Mich.-based company announced Wednesday shortly ahead of its quarterly earnings report. CFO Jerome Dorlack will step into the leadership role, while Dorlack’s job will be taken over by Mark Oswald, who is vice president and treasurer and heads up investor relations and corporate communications.
Fritz Henderson, non-executive chairman of Adient’s board, thanked Del Grosso for “his exceptional contributions” and said he looks forward to a smooth transition.
“Since joining the company in 2018, Doug has been instrumental in establishing a strong foundation for Adient through his strategic direction and unwavering focus on operational excellence. His leadership has resulted in outstanding operational and financial improvements,” Henderson said in a news release.
Del Grosso, a veteran turnaround leader of automotive suppliers, took over Adient shortly after its decision to ax plans for a $100 million headquarters in downtown Detroit. At the time, the company struggled mightily with being profitable following its spin-off from Johnson Controls in 2016. At the helm of one of the world’s largest auto suppliers, Del Grosso cut costs, streamlined operations and turned the company’s focus from pure revenue growth to profitability.
With $15.4 million in compensation in 2022, the CEO is among the highest paid in Southeast Michigan, along with several of his counterparts at large tier one suppliers.
“It has been an honor to work with the Adient team and lead this great company,” Del Grosso said in the release. “I am truly proud of everything we have accomplished.”
During an interview at the company’s Plymouth Technical Center earlier this year, Del Grosso explained how he has made the company more deliberate about walking away from business it doesn’t like and more aggressive about renegotiating contracts that no longer make financial sense.
“We’ve changed our mindset over the course of the last four years,” he told Crain’s. “It’s very much bottom-line performance-based and not top-line growth. Unless we’re absolutely sure we can get a return on our investment, we don’t really measure performance in terms of market share I think like we historically had.”
Dorlack also joined Adient in 2018 after working at Aptiv plc as senior vice president and president of electrical distribution systems and president of South America operations.
“Looking ahead, Jerome has a proven track record of success at Adient, having successfully led our Americas operations and served as CFO,” Del Grosso said. “He is the ideal leader to continue Adient’s long-term success.”